Snowflake
by The Forgotten Nobody
Summary: "Did you ever think of getting a pet when you were older?" (Coldflash)


Written for a prompt I got on tumblr (I'm Scarlett-Ice btw!): Person A offhandedly mentions they want a dog, Person B makes it happen. Coldflash?

* * *

Sunday mornings are Len's favourite. It's his and Barry's one opportunity to simply stay in bed, relax and talk. Sometimes they speak about their weeks, sharing funny anecdotes or concerns; sometimes they talk about their past, the good, the bad and the ugly. Today, Barry is telling Len about some of the happier moments of his childhood, before his mom died.

"We had a dog, you know," Barry murmurs, his head resting on Len's chest. He's essentially using Len as a full body pillow, not that the crook's complaining. "My parents got her before I was born so I can only really remember her when she was pretty old."

"What kind was she?" Len asks, stroking a hand down Barry's spine.

"A Labrador," Barry replies wistfully. "Her name was Millie. Even though she struggled to walk near the end, she always made sure to greet you when you came home. I remember one time I was sick and apart from food and obligatory walks, she never left my bedside. There's nothing like a dog's loyalty."

"We never had pets growing up," Len says, unable to keep out all the bitterness. "It wasn't really the sorta household for one."

"Did you ever think of getting a pet when you were older?"

"I've never really thought about it. I definitely wanted one when I was a kid but with my life-style…didn't really had time to take care of one."

Barry hums, the vibrations running along Len's chest. The speedster draws lazy patterns against Len's skin that soothe him closer and closer back to sleep.

"Maybe one day we could get one?" Barry asks and with him on the cusp of slumber, he barely hears the question, only repeating a slurred 'maybe' before succumbing. When he wakes, the topic has disappeared from his mind.

* * *

Barry is acting strange. In itself, this wouldn't be so concerning as with his excess energy, Barry often gets in jittery mood, but _Lisa_ is also acting strange. What was supposed to be a simple lunch has turned into his sister threatening bodily harm if he even dares to think of leaving. She says it's because he hasn't yet helped her pick the perfect dress for her next date with Ramon but Lisa has never once wanted his opinion. As she herself had previously said, she _knew_ what suited her body and honestly, Len didn't want to think about that too hard.

Len had tried to get out of it, first by texting and then calling Barry, but the texts he'd got in reply had been abrupt (with the excuse that he was _busy,_ even though Len knows he only has a half day today) and all his calls had gone straight to voicemail. Len knows Barry wouldn't be doing anything like cheat on him and he's fairly certain he's not missed some big anniversary or done anything to make Barry angry at him.

 _Lisa_ then gets a call and all of a sudden, he's needed no longer.

"Yeah, I think I'll just go with the first one, the red dress," she says flippantly and Len takes a deep, soothing breath. Since he doesn't want an argument, he just leaves. He heads straight for home, hoping he's not going to be entering either an empty house or one filled with an irate Barry.

Well, he's certainly not greeted with either.

Len nearly buckles under the impact of 45 pounds of fur. He staggers against the door, just managing to support the weight of the white husky that's trying to bounce high enough to lick his face. It manages one long swipe on his cheek before it falls to the ground, tongue lolled and tail wagging. Len stares at it incredulously before his gaze is drawn upwards to his sheepish boyfriend.

"Um, surprise?"

"A surprise indeed," Len comments dryly, bending down to scratch the husky behind the ears. "I'll assume this is why you and Lisa were acting so strange?"

"She promised to keep you busy while I got her," Barry admits. "But there was a problem and I had get her to stall you for longer and then I forgot dog toys so had to get them and Snowflake is very excitable and nearly got off the leash and-"

Len stops him there; worried Barry might faint if he doesn't take a breath. "Snowflake. You named her Snowflake?"

"She's white!" Barry defends. "And you know…I thought it would suit her, us."

"All that's missing is golden retriever named Bolt," Len replies wryly and when he sees Barry's eyes widen in delight, he quickly adds, "Which is something we would perhaps get _after_ a discussion."

"We did discuss this! I mean, it was a couple of months ago...but we did!" Suddenly, Barry looks unsure, biting his lip. "You're not mad are you? Because, I _can_ always take her back, or I could promise to take care of her alone…"

With a final pat to Snowflake's head, Len crosses the distance between him and Barry, taking the hero's hands in his own.

"Hey, I'm not mad. I did always want a pet, you're right, and it's not like we don't have the space, or time with your speed. Thank you Barry."

Len places a kiss against Barry's mouth, feeling the speedster melt under him as their mouths mold together. And then he's… falling?

They collapse in a heap on the floor, Barry on top of him and Len struggling to catch his breath. The two startled men look up to find Snowflake standing where Barry had previously been, tongue still out; the picture of innocence.

"I suppose we ought to get used to that," Len sighs, unable to resist joining in when Barry starts laughing. Not wanting to be left out, Snowflake howls.


End file.
